The assistant director of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini, Sanjeev Gupta, on Tuesday said the process of conducting a polygraph test on Aaftab Amin Poonawala, the accused in the murder of Mumbai woman Shraddha Walker in the national capital, has begun and the report will be out in a week's time.
Delhi Police had previously said Aaftab, following his arrest in the case, confessed to killing his live-in partner in their apartment in West Delhi's Chhatarpur and chopping her body into 35 pieces.
Narco test soon
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Gupta said, "We've been directed by the Delhi Police and our director to process this case fast. We are working on some parameters that are important before conducting a narco test." Earlier in the day, Delhi Police sources confirmed to ANI that the process for the court-sanctioned polygraph test on Aaftab had been initiated.
"Pre-med sessions and scientific sessions for Aftab's polygraph test leading up to the polygraph test are underway," an FSL official said.
In a polygraph test, the subject is asked a series of questions while his physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiration are measured. This data is then used to determine if the subject is lying.
Will the narco-analysis test and polygraph test on Poonawala be admissible in court?
On November 17, a Delhi court granted permission to the police to conduct a narco-analysis test on Poonawala. The test will be conducted at Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini.
Officers are of the view that even though it will not be admissible in court, the test could lead to some crucial evidence to firm up the case in court.
Another retired Delhi Police chief, who requested not to be named, told PTI on November 20, "On the basis of the narco analysis test, if the police recovered something, it is relevant. Confession is not admissible, but it is an aid to the investigator."
Investigation till now
Aaftab is alleged to have preserved the chopped body parts in a refrigerator before dumping them in the forests of Chhatarpur.
Delhi Police solved the six-month-old murder case after arresting Aaftab on the basis of a complaint filed by Shraddha's father.
Aaftab and Shraddha met on a dating site and moved in together to a rented accommodation in Chhatarpur as the relationship grew.
On receipt of the complaint from Shraddha's father, Delhi Police registered an FIR on November 10.
Subsequent interrogation of the accused revealed that Aaftab killed Shraddha on May 18 after which he started researching ways to dispose of the body. He also borrowed ideas on disposal from popular crime shows on his streaming devices, Delhi Police revealed.
He also told police that he also read up on human anatomy before chopping his girlfriend's body.
Police said after browsing on the internet on ways to remove all traces of his crime, Aaftab mopped blood stains from the floor of the couple's Chhatarpur apartment with some chemicals and also disposed of all stained clothes.
He then shifted the body to the bathroom and bought a refrigerator where he hoarded the chopped body parts, police further informed.
(With inputs from agencies)
